Uli Jon Roth is going back to his roots playing hits from his time in the Scorpions

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It’s not often you can see a tribute band then a few weeks later watch the real deal (well, one fifth of it) at the same venue.

But last month the Scopyons rocked Eleven, in Tunstall, and now Uli Jon Roth – the former lead guitarist of the Scorpions – is playing there too.

The 62-year-old, originally from Germany but now living in North Wales, is considerably more organised and composed than you would expect a hard rock star to be. Uli has kept a record of every gig he’s played since the 1970s, and he studiously finds his Stoke-on-Trent appearances for me.

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He said: “Some of the tribute bands for The Scorpions are really quite good. In Spain there’s one called The Stingers, which I like. Of course I like tributes because it means the music has a life of its own, aside from what we are doing. It’s always a good sign!

“After I left the Scorpions they just became bigger and bigger. They were absolutely massive at one point, particularly in America and Russia. They became more commercial – they wanted that, and I didn’t necessarily want to go round that route. But they did it in a very good way, with extremely strong song writers, some of the best in the business. The songs had lasting value and that’s not the case with all bands from that period.

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“I’ve had such a long career spanning 50 years but this gig will focus on the early Scorpions period, with the occasional Electric Sun song. I am basically cherry picking my favourites. These songs still come to life and I always have a lot of happy customers! And that makes it worthwhile.

“It’s a nice feeling to see material from years ago still speaks to people. It’s something I never really anticipated back then when we did it – we just did our best.

“My music has changed very much, I’ve always had one foot in the classical genre. That’s why it’s very interesting to go back to the roots.”

Uli John Roth will perform at Eleven music venue, in Tunstall, from 7pm on December 13.Tickets cost £18 from elevenmusicvenue.co.uk or £20 on the door.